After the devastating attacks of 9/11, a crack team of welders and construction workers was brought in from all over the country to repair the damage to the Pentagon. In the weeks and months that passed as the rubble was cleared and the repairs begun, the true extent of the attack was revealed. But the injuries and deaths did not stop in September of 2001. Abrams Landau was contacted by a Colorado family looking for help with a workers compensation claim.

This young man was killed during a construction accident at the Pentagon on March 28, 2002 while under the employ of BirdAir. A girder caused a sling to give way, causing multiple blunt injuries that caused his death at George Washington University Hospital. Under Virginia law, his ex-wife was not entitled to benefits. However, Herndon Reston area injury lawyer Doug Landau was able to get his surviving daughter weekly compensation. These checks have totaled over $115,000 and continue today. The judge ruled that she was entitled to benefits as long as she was a minor. She would be eligible for additional benefits if she enrolled in a full time educational institution, which she has done. While Abrams Landau has helped pilot, flight attendant, passenger and other families affected by the 9/11 tragedy, this case drives home the fact that people were physically harmed long after the planes crashed and the fires were put out. As is his custom, Mr. Landau asks for pictures of the family. In his file is a picture of this (then) 14-year-old girl and her father and the words, “MY HERO.” See tomorrow’s post for part II of this incredible story – his unborn daughter.